5+ Comprehensiv Passages for Practice - English

English Notes | Passages
5+ Comprehensiv Passages for Practice - English
Class: 11

1. Read the following passage & answer the following questions given below: [ Passage 1]

The University of Oxford located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the oldest university in English speaking world. It is also regarded as one of the world's leading academic permanent private halls. The university traces its roots back to at least the end of the 12th century, although the exact date of foundation remains unclear. After a dispute between students and townsfolk broke out in 1209, some of the academics at Oxford fled northeast to the town of Cambridge, where the University of
Cambridge was founded. The two universities have since had a long history of competition with each other. The University of Oxford is a member of the Russell Group (a network of researchled British universities, the Coimbra Group (a network of leading European universities), the league of European Research Universities, International Alliance of Research Universities and is also a core member of the Europium. Academically, Oxford is consistently ranked in the world's top 10 universities. For more than a century, it has served as the home of the Rhodes scholarship, which brings highly, accomplished students from a number of countries to study at Oxford as Postgraduates.

Questions:

(a) Where is the University of Oxford located?

(b) When was the University established?

(c) What was the positive outcome of the dispute between students and locals?

(d) What is the Coimbra Group? What is its relation with the University?

(e) How does the Rhodes scholarship contribute to the highly accomplished students?

2. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below: [ Passage 2 ]

Prior to her birthday, my mother had made a simple request. "I don't want any of your usual gifts just buy me some rose plants of rare variety, profuse bloomers with double-shaded blooms." she said, after a tiring search, I found the variety and gifted her. She was delighted but I felt sorry for not having thought about it earlier. My mother, an avid gardener, has a beautiful garden which she tends with great love and care. Every spare moment of hers has been spent there. Though she had shown her love for flowers, it never struck any of us that a gift of flower plants would send her spirits soaring. This incident has changed my concept of gifts. Gifts, which are a token of love and goodwill, are intended to spread happiness and build bonds. The giver glows with the joy of giving and sharing while the recipient exults with the feeling of being cherished and wanted. Every human being craves for affection and gifts are little gestures that make this happen. There is no criterion for choosing gifts. It all depends on the giver's ability to understand the recipient's taste and interest. The gift need not be expensive. The most valued gifts are those which mean little to one but may have a great value for the other. A relative of mine who was in the army once mentioned that he didn't have photographs of his parents. "The album has been lost during transfers and he is unable to show his children what their grandparents looked like," he said adding, "I would do anything to get their photographs." As his parents were my uncle and aunt, I presented him the photographs from my old album on his birthday. He was overjoyed to receive the precious gift and my gift had no comparison.

Questions:

(a)What does the writer's mother do in her leisure?

(b)What incident changed the writer's concept about gifts?

(c)Why are gifts given?

(d)How could the writer make his relative happy?

(e)What are the most valued gifts?

3. Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below: [ Passage 3 ]

We had an enormous apple tree in our garden only a few yards from the kitchen window. "We really must cut the tree down," my husband said, soon after we moved into the house. "I'm sure it's dangerous," he said. Don't be silly," I said. I quite liked the tree myself. "It's quite safe. It's not going to fall down on the house." Well, I read something in the paper only the other day," He said, "A tree crashed into a woman's bedroom during a storm. She was going to get rid of the tree - and now she's in hospital." In the end, after several arguments of this kind, we asked a couple of workmen to come along and cut the tree down. It was not an easy job. In fact, it took them all morning. But at last, the tree was lying on the ground. "What about the roots?" the men asked. "Shall we take them out too or leave them?" "Oh, take them out," I said, "Let's make a good job of it." This took all afternoon but I was beginning to think about the size of the bill. There was also a big hole in the garden. "You'll be able to put all your old rubbish in there!" the men said as they left. My husband climbed down into the hole and began to look around, "Hey look!" he called up to me. "There are some old coins here! And, I think they are gold!" I climbed down into the hole and we started to dig around, hoping to find some more coins. We did and we also found a small metal box. We broke it open. It was full of jewelry - rings, necklaces, and bracelets! "Well, aren't you glad now that you got rid of the old tree?" My husband said, and I was speechless!

Questions:

(a) Why did the husband of the writer want to get rid of the apple tree?

(b) What did the workmen ask after they had cut the tree?

(c) What did they suggest about the use of the big hole?

(d) Why did the writer become speechless at the end?

(e) What did they find under the root of the tree?

4. Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow: [ Passage 4 ]

One common mistake that many people have made is this: they have thought that it would be a very good thing if everybody had exactly the same amount of money. No matter whether they worked hard or lived quite idly. They forget that very few people would work at all if it were not for the money their work brings them, and that without work there would be no money. And they have imagined that if all the money in the country were equally divided everybody would be rich. Now that is very great mistake, because there simply is not enough money to make everybody rich. If it were shared, equally all round everyone then would, on the basis of the calculations made in1935, receive only about Rs. 65 a year. Today with a rise in the price level, it might be Rs.150 a year. That may be more than you receive now or i may be less, but would certainly not make you really rich. It is quite true that there are in this country a small number of very rich people; but they are so few in comparison with the whole population that even if they were to share out all their wealth among the rest, it would make very little difference. It is said that if you flattened out that great French mountain Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Europe, and spread it over the whole of France you would only raise the level if the land by about six inches. See if you can think out what that has to do with the question I have been talking about.

Questions:

(a) What would people do if everybody was given exactly the same amount of money?

(b) Why is it not possible to make everybody rich?

(c) What is the proportion of very rich people and the whole population in a country?

(d) What happens if the highest mountain of Europe is flattened and spread over the whole of France?

(e) What is the common mistake that every people make?

5. Read the following passage and answer the question that follows: [ Passage 5 ]

Supposing you have to make a payment of Rs. 100, you can do so in rupee coins: but it would be cumbersome to pay in nickel or copper coins, because they are heavy to carry and also because it takes much time to count them. The Government therefore permits you to make the payment in rupee-notes. What are these rupee-notes really? They are a kind of money; right enough, although they are made of paper instead of metal. You can use them in just the same way that you use ordinary money. The reason why they are made of paper and used is that they save the trouble of carrying metal coins about of curse, paper is lighter than metal-and they also save using silver and other metals when they are scarce. What makes these more pieces of paper bear the value of the number of rupees that is printed upon them? Why should a piece of paper, with '100' printed on it be worth twenty times as much as a piece of paper with 'five' printed on it and also worth a hundred times as much as silver rupee-coin? The reason is that Government guarantees that the piece of paper is worth the amount printed on it and promises to pay that amount to anybody who wishes to exchange this paper for the rupee-coins. Also if you think about it, you can easily realize that millions and millions more of rupee-coins would have to be minted, if all paper-money were abolished.

Questions:

(a) Why are coins not preferable to use?

(b) What does the government guarantee for the paper note?

(c) What would happen if all paper money were abolished?

(d) What does the piece of text explain about?

(e) Why are paper-notes preferable to use?

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